OAKLAND  Many well-placed people in and around the Chargers insisted that Norv Turner’s fate was all but sealed a month ago and cemented on Christmas Eve. Turner, himself, seemed as though he’d be surprised if he got another season as head coach, all things considered.

Yet one man is making the decision on Turner’s future.

And Dean Spanos has decisions yet to make. That much seems all that is certain.

Spanos on Sunday watched the final moments of the final game of a disappointing season from the sideline in the company of General Manager A.J. Smith, then walked to the locker room to listen to Turner’s postgame speech and congratulate his head coach for the 38-26 victory over the Raiders.

In between those two tasks, Spanos stopped for a moment to answer some questions.

The Chargers president said to not read too much into his words, but it was difficult not to.

“It was really exciting,” Spanos said. “I’m really proud of them. I think it really shows how resilient they are, how hard they play for this coach.”

It’s a sentiment he has expressed previously, publicly and privately.

And whether anyone else thinks it should matter, his interpretation appears accurate.

A month ago, it would have been impossible to find someone in the organization — including Turner — who thought the head coach would be here. Players, too, were resigned to the outcome, but the majority of them never wanted it.

The sentiment outside the locker room would appear to be in favor change. Inside, it is not unanimous, but Turner supporters overwhelmingly outnumber detractors.

“Despite what we’ve heard, what we’ve been through, we still rallied behind the coach we still believe in,” tight end Antonio Gates said.

A core group of players, in fact, talked among themselves last week about how finishing with a victory could possibly tip the scale.

It might have.

Asked about his future following the game, Turner said: “I don’t need to answer that because there’s going to be a decision made, and we will all know it.”

But while addressing his players, talking about the uncertainty of the future and how much they all needed to value the relationships they’d built, Turner broke down in the postgame locker room.

Afterward, numerous players feted the head coach who has led them to a 49-31 regular-season mark in five seasons and at 52-34 overall, including the postseason, is tied with Sid Gillman for the best winning percentage (.605) among any of the franchise’s 14 all-time head coaches.

“Today, battling back from 4-7, I really think that speaks volumes about how players feel about Norv,” quarterback Philip Rivers said.

After months of silence and just days before finding out whether he will continue to be the Chargers GM, Smith talked Sunday night.

Smith was asked by whether he was anxious about his fate.

“I’ve been around this league too many years to be anxious,” Smith said. “We all know the deal when we get into the business. This is a results business, period. We have no Super Bowl trophy under my watch. I’m a Charger 24/7 until I’m not. I have a long list of things I’m responsible for under Dean’s organizational policy. The general manager’s status isn’t one of them.”